Broadway Buzz: Buzz Extra- South Pacific SOME ENCHANTED EVENING An enchanted evening awaits you at PlayhouseSquare: SOUTH PACIFIC by Rodgers and Hammerstein arrives as part of the KeyBank Broadway Series February 1- 13. 31 AWARDS SOUTH PACIFIC originally opened in New York in 1949. It was a smash hit, winning nine Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Original Score and Best Libretto. The show went on to win not only the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical, but also the 1950 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It played 1,925 performances before it closed in 1954. The revival that this National Tour http://www.playhousesquare.org/buzzextra/south-pacific/ (1 of 3) [1/25/2011 10:12:18 AM] Broadway Buzz: Buzz Extra- South Pacific presents opened at Lincoln Center in Read More... Photo Credit: Tim Gulan and the Seabees Photo by Matt Polk Have you ever seen a live Buzz Extra is a publication of the production of SOUTH Community Engagement & Education PACIFIC (not the movie)? Department at PlayhouseSquare Yes Vice President of Theatricals: No Gina Vernaci Director of Community Engagement & Education: Colleen Porter Director of Ticket Sales & Marketing: Share This Micropoll.com Autumn Kiser Editors: Linda Jackson, Cindi Szymanski http://www.playhousesquare.org/buzzextra/south-pacific/ (2 of 3) [1/25/2011 10:12:18 AM] Broadway Buzz: Buzz Extra- South Pacific Official South Pacific Tour Website Writer: "Like" South Pacific on Facebook Robin Pease Visit the South Pacific Video Gallery Photos: Peter Coombs, Joan Marcus, Matt Polk, Craig Schwartz Home Some Enchanted Evening Download and read the printable version of the Dear Oscar Buzz (535Kb in PDF format) here You've Got to Be Taught Archives: Blue Man Group Talking with Conductor Lawrence Goldberg Billy Elliot The Musical Tales of the South Pacific We welcome your feedback and suggestions for the Enrich Your Experience: Buzz Extra. Please email Broadway Buzz Events [email protected] Recommended Reading from Cleveland Public Library http://www.playhousesquare.org/buzzextra/south-pacific/ (3 of 3) [1/25/2011 10:12:18 AM] Broadway Buzz: Buzz Extra- South Pacific SOME ENCHANTED EVENING Carmen Cusack as Ensign Nellie Forbush and the Nurses of South Pacific; Photo by Peter Coombs http://www.playhousesquare.org/buzzextra/south-pacific/evening.html (1 of 4) [1/25/2011 10:12:48 AM] Broadway Buzz: Buzz Extra- South Pacific An enchanted evening awaits you at PlayhouseSquare: SOUTH PACIFIC by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein arrives as part of the KeyBank Broadway Series February 1-13. 31 Awards SOUTH PACIFIC originally opened in New York in 1949. It was a smash hit, winning nine Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Original Score and Best Libretto. The show went on to win not only the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical, but also the 1950 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It played 1,925 performances before it closed in 1954. The revival that this National Tour presents opened at Lincoln Center in March 2008 and closed August 2010, but not before 996 performances, eight Tony Awards (including Best Revival and Best Direction), five Drama Desk Awards, five Outer Critics Circle Awards and two Theatre World Awards. All together, this makes 31 awards, a testament to the quality of the show and the longevity of its themes. Playbackstl.com proclaims, “This production lived up to all of the very high praise it has been receiving since its inception on Broadway...Theater fans Have you ever seen a live would do well to make time for this fabulous revival.” production of SOUTH PACIFIC (not the movie)? New York Post praises SOUTH PACIFIC as, “Simply Wonderful! Beguiling Theatrical Magic!" Yes In fact, critics all over have lauded this Lincoln Center revival of SOUTH No PACIFIC. The Los Angeles Times sings, “If ‘Some Enchanted Evening’ doesn’t make your eyes mist during one of its reprises, please consult your doctor, as Share This Micropoll.com this may be a sign of a serious medical condition.” The Dallas Morning News resonates, “Rodgers and Hammerstein are peerless in capturing the American mythos….melody upon melody … create this monument to our national optimism and generosity in spite of http://www.playhousesquare.org/buzzextra/south-pacific/evening.html (2 of 4) [1/25/2011 10:12:48 AM] Broadway Buzz: Buzz Extra- South Pacific Official South Pacific Tour Website prejudice.” "Like" South Pacific on Facebook “If the opportunity to see SOUTH PACIFIC presents itself…drag yourself to Visit the South Pacific Video Gallery the …theater, whether that be by car, public transit, hitchhiking, or walking 20 miles in freezing rain. It’s a small price to pay for this theatrical masterpiece,” writes the Chicago Theater Blog. Home The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette notes, “The portrayal of the human toll of war Some Enchanted Evening and prejudice in SOUTH PACIFIC rings as true for a 21st century audience as when it debuted in 1949.” Dear Oscar Phillyist.com agrees, “Rodgers and Hammerstein's message of love over You've Got to Be Taught hate still plays out fabulously in modern day.” Talking with Conductor Lawrence Goldberg Tales Synopsis of the South Pacific Setting: an island in the South Pacific during World War II. Enrich Your Experience: Broadway Buzz Events The main characters: Recommended Reading from ● Nellie Forbush, a Navy nurse who is “in love with a wonderful Cleveland Public Library guy” (French planter Emile de Becque) ● Luther Billis, a sailor who wants to visit the island Bali Ha’i where the French planters hide their daughters, because he “ain’t got dames” ● Marine Joe Cable, who arrives on the island to do some reconnaissance work against the Japanese but meets an “angel and lover, heaven and earth” in Liat, a Tonkinese native In traditional boy-meets-girl, boy-loses-girl-fashion, chaos ensues as the ugly face of racism raises its head and changes some lives forever. Did You Know? Many of SOUTH PACIFIC’s songs have become popular classic standards performed by artists as part of their repertoire: “Some Enchanted Evening,” “This Nearly Was Mine,” “Bali Ha’i,” “A Cockeyed Optimist,” “A Wonderful Guy,” and “Younger Than Springtime” have been recorded by Ray Charles, Mandy Patinkin, Julie Andrews, Frank Sinatra, Harry Connick Jr., David Cassidy, The Temptations, Reba McEntire, Bing Crosby, Robert http://www.playhousesquare.org/buzzextra/south-pacific/evening.html (3 of 4) [1/25/2011 10:12:48 AM] Broadway Buzz: Buzz Extra- South Pacific Goulet, Chick Corea, Art Garfunkel, Blue Oyster Cult, Barbra Streisand, Percy Faith, Liza Minelli, Les Brown, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Doris Day, Kiri Te Kanawa, Nelson Riddle, Bobby Darrin, Judy Collins, Barbara Cook, Andy Williams and many others. For more information on SOUTH PACIFIC, visit: http://www.southpacificontour.com http://www.playhousesquare.org/buzzextra/south-pacific/evening.html (4 of 4) [1/25/2011 10:12:48 AM] Broadway Buzz: Buzz Extra- South Pacific DEAR OSCAR Anderson Davis as Lt. Joseph Cable and Sumie Maeda as Liat; Photo by Peter Coombs http://www.playhousesquare.org/buzzextra/south-pacific/oscar.html (1 of 6) [1/25/2011 10:13:02 AM] Broadway Buzz: Buzz Extra- South Pacific Oscar Hammerstein II wrote the lyrics of the musical SOUTH PACIFIC. Hammerstein was a great partner. He worked not only with Richard Rodgers, but with Jerome Kern (Showboat), Herbert Stothart (Always You, Furs and Frills, Jimmie, Tickle Me), Otto Harbach, (Rose Marie, The Desert Song), and he was a mentor to Stephen Sondheim! Hammerstein has written some of the best lyrics about love and relationships of all time: “People Will Say We’re In Love” from Oklahoma, “Some Enchanted Evening” from SOUTH PACIFIC, “Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man” from Showboat, “If I Loved You” from Carousel, “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” from The Sound Of Music, “Do I Love You Because You’re Beautiful” from Cinderella, “Hello Young Lovers” from The King And I, “Don’t Marry Me” from Flower Drum Song, and “It Might As Well Be Spring” from State Fair, among others. So forget “DEAR ABBY,” who better to give advice on love than Oscar? Here’s some of his advice using lyrics from SOUTH PACIFIC. Dear Oscar: Have you ever seen a live I met this wonderful guy, but we are not alike, probably I’d production of SOUTH bore him. PACIFIC (not the movie)? He’s a cultured Frenchman; I’m a little hick from Arkansas. But if you'll excuse an expression I use, I'm in love. I expect Yes everyone of my crowd to make fun of my proud protestations No of faith in romance. And they'll say I'm naïve as a babe to believe every fable I hear from a person in pants. What should I tell my friends? Cockeyed Optimist Share This Micropoll.com Dear Cockeyed Optimist: Fearlessly face your friends and argue their doubts away. Loudly sing about flowers in spring. Flatly stand on your little http://www.playhousesquare.org/buzzextra/south-pacific/oscar.html (2 of 6) [1/25/2011 10:13:02 AM] Broadway Buzz: Buzz Extra- South Pacific Official South Pacific Tour Website flat feet and say, “Love is a grand and a beautiful thing!” "Like" South Pacific on Facebook You shouldn’t be ashamed to reveal the world famous feeling Visit the South Pacific Video Gallery you feel. Oscar Home Some Enchanted Evening Dear Oscar: Dear Oscar I live on a lonely island, lost in the middle of a foggy sea. I You've Got to Be Taught long for another island, one where I know I would like to be. Where should I go? Talking with Conductor Lawrence Goldberg Tales Lost of the South Pacific Dear Lost: Enrich Your Experience: Broadway Buzz Events Ever visit Bali Ha’i? Your own special hopes, your own special dreams, bloom on the hillside and shine in the streams.